Hunting Clubs

[bgdrhntr]

So I posted earlier trying to find out about possible hunting clubs in Oklahoma. Also after searching the post and reading everything I could find I decided to consolidate what I found out in case others want to know the options. Completing a Google search you find multiple “Hunting Clubs” listed but most are just day hunts or guided hunts. Once you get through most of those there are three locally that come up. Sportsman’s Country Club, Edmond Sportsmen’s Club, and Red Dirt Hunting Club. I visited each of their sites and made call to all three. Here’s what I learned.

Edmond Sportsmen’s Club (www.eschunting.org) states they have the most land. I made several phone calls and got no return. From what I could find on other forums they seem to be mostly a quail club but have all other species available. I couldn’t find any information about total membership and after reading the rules I wasn’t sure about what was covered by the basic membership verses the membership with associate fees. This club seems to handle everything through electronic means. Rules are posted on the site.

Sportsmen’s Country Club (www.okcsportsmansclub.com) has lots of advertisement on craigslist and there seems to be lots of information on the different forums, including this one, about them. According to what I could find they have around 50K acres spread out across the state. This club seemed to have more of a business feel to me. Memberships seemed to be reasonable and the monthly payment was a nice option. I did get the feeling that this club was a step up from public land but I would still be sharing areas that I wanted to hunt with potentially many other members. They also seemed to be trying to have every type of hunting available. Their website is nice and easy to navigate with lots of pictures and rules posted to read.

Red Dirt Hunting Club (www.reddirthuntingclub.com) is the newest and the smallest of the three clubs. I called and got a call back right away. They stated that they were mainly a deer and duck club and leased 19K acres last year. They stated that they try to keep over 400 acres per member and were looking at around 460 per member this year. They have an online reservation system just like the other three clubs and all the harvest data is shared between the members on the site. Their charter limits the club to 50 members but the person I talked to said they had fewer than that and were only looking to add a couple of members. They would only add more than that if they added land. This club seemed to be more like a traditional hunting club with camping on the leases and small enough to know who was on the property with you.

So I’m asking again does anyone actually belong to one of these clubs and can you give me your opinion of which you chose and for what reason? I’d like to join so I can get out and scout.

 

[Swine]

<--- belongs to the Hangem High Hunting club. Its only a 7 member club. Membership opportunities come up in Nov but access starts from Jan 1st to Dec. 31st of the following year.

Don't have any clue on the bigger clubs... from researching posts and just hearing complaints (rarely do you hear the good comments online) the larger clubs wouldn't of been better than public land. The politics involved for some large clubs drives me nuts. 2 years ago we started our small club and have been enjoying it.

 

[The German]

I was a member of Sportsmans, but did not agree with the politics and closed door stuff going on and spoke up and that did not go over well. I did not have big issues with the land, but I know there were several times that people would reserve themselves and their family and have their buddy do the same so that the area was full when not even half of them would actually be there. I did hear that they did not even average one deer per member this year.

I am now a member of Red Dirt, I like it because it is smaller and more managable and we do not have to spend club money on things like a secretary, like Sportsmans and Hunting Sports Plus. Everyone is involved that wants to be, all information is made available, and it feels more like a club like I am used to from my Arkansas days. I can pretty much name and identify everyone in the club and everyone is willing to help others out. Everyone gets to go see land before we lease it and give input. Red Dirt is not for profit and has no employees.

There is another club I think called T-Bar or Bar-T or something like that, I tried to contact them last year and no one would email or call. It is another for profit club which I am not a fan of, but with no contact I did not even get the chance to consider it.

Hunting Sports Plus is another one that is for profit, and they will call you for sure, 2-3 times a day! They have land in several states. They are also affiliated with the American Wildlife Association, which from what I understands gives you access to other clubs land such as Southwind Outdoors in Arkansas. I was considering Southwind for duck hunting last year, they have a nice set up but I would just have to travel too much.

Of course there are a ton of small clubs, the majority are run by father and son and brother and cousin and have the good ole boy stuff going on. Not all, but a lot of them anyway.

It just depends what you want really. Do you want to be involved and be more of a club or do you want to let someone make all the decisions for you and you are more or less funding their business and all your dues do not go to the leases?

Everyone has their own wants, needs, and ideas about it all, just have to find a place that fits.

 

[oksportsman]

All 3 clubs are worthy of your consideration.

I am partial to Sportsman's as their Hunt Club Chairman. Some of our members left to join Red Dirt but after their first season with Red Dirt a number of them have rejoined Sportsman's for a variety of reasons.

Sportsman's hunt committee meetings are open to all members to attend. Meeting minutes are posted online for all members to see. The biggest change from 2 years ago when The German was a member to now is that we have sold our OKC clubhouse to allow us to concentrate 100% on hunting and lower our monthly dues as was addressed in another forum post.

I am sure all 3 clubs limit hunting spots as appropriate for land and game and all 3 have good leases that are much better than public land.

You have done some good research and I am sure you will choose wisely from 3 good hunting clubs.

 

[bgdrhntr]

Sportsman. a couple things I couldn't find while researching was total membership and if ya'll had an upper limit. Also as pointed out earlier many post on several different boards seem to be negative. I hope that this one stays positive. One complaint that I'm interested about is the Board for the Sportsmans. Is that the same as the Committee.

German. Does Red Dirt have a Board? When are your meetings? Can anyone come?

 

[A5Sooner]

There is another club I think called T-Bar or Bar-T or something like that, I tried to contact them last year and no one would email or call. It is another for profit club which I am not a fan of, but with no contact I did not even get the chance to consider it.

I believe it's B-bar-L.

 

[The German]

I believe it's B-bar-L.

Yes, that was it. I just came across a 2010 post on here about that club and the link to their website is down and not much info out there, so they might have closed up shop.

 

[The German]

Sportsman. a couple things I couldn't find while researching was total membership and if ya'll had an upper limit. Also as pointed out earlier many post on several different boards seem to be negative. I hope that this one stays positive. One complaint that I'm interested about is the Board for the Sportsmans. Is that the same as the Committee.

German. Does Red Dirt have a Board? When are your meetings? Can anyone come?

Red Dirt does not have a board, we have officers that are nominated and voted on by all members every year. Outside of deer season we meet monthly and every member is invited and guest/potential members are encouraged to come. On that note, we do not accept just anyone, we like to meet the people and have them meet us so we can make sure, as much as we can, that we are a fit with eachother and then they have to be accepted by the membership. Additionally, our Charter is available online to anyone. Nothing is hidden. We did have people go back to Sportsmans, but we had more that did not, and some that left Sportsmans to come to Red Dirt and several more in discussion to come. Like I said, it just depends what you want. To us it is not a competition, we are not a business and do not have employees to support.

 

[oksportsman]

Sportsman. a couple things I couldn't find while researching was total membership and if ya'll had an upper limit. Also as pointed out earlier many post on several different boards seem to be negative. I hope that this one stays positive. One complaint that I'm interested about is the Board for the Sportsmans. Is that the same as the Committee.

At the present time, Sportsman's has a Board of Directors and a Hunting Committee with 75% common membership so the vast majority of our board members are hunters. Now that our clubhouse sale is almost finalized, I believe our Board President who led us through that is ready for a change in leadership. I have recommended that the club go to a single leadership group and that it have all hunters as elected members to reflect our hunting only focus.

The hunting committee has discussed a cap on membership and we have no desire to grow beyond that cap. Our total hunt membership is just under 150 hunters.

 

[oksportsman]

bdgrhntr

I will not comment negatively about the Red Dirt Club - I wish them well.

Nothing is hidden at Sportsman's as was suggested above. When we had our clubhouse we had 2 full time employees that we may or may not need in our new hunting only focus. I've already said that all hunters are welcome and encouraged to attend the hunt committee meetings. I've also said that all hunt committee meeting minutes are place online for all members to have access to. Every member has an equal vote as they hold a single share of stock - our bylaws ensure that and have been in place over 50 years. We have also implemented a new member procedure as we, just like other hunting clubs, want hunters who are a good fit for our club.

You are doing your research well and I am glad to be able to share actual & true facts to assist you. Regardless of the club you choose to join, I hope your future hunting seasons are fun and productive.